Paul
Gainey - 7-Nov-2008 - The Environment Agency’s
initial investigation into the flooding
in East Devon last week has found that its
scale and extent is much bigger than first
thought. Action is well underway in response
to the event.
Over 250 properties
are now known to have flooded in over 20
communities across the area. Places affected
include: Ottery St Mary, Feniton, West Hill,
Stoke Canon, Kentisbeare, Talaton, Whimple,
Venn Ottery, Tipton st John, Newton Poppleford,
Otterton, Budleigh Salterton, Fenny Bridges,
Harpford, Rockbeare, Leathermill, Payhembury,
Awliscombe, Taleford, Cadhay, Fluxton and
Alfington.
The flooding followed
a localised rain and hail storm with around
100mm (4 inches) of rain falling in six
hours on the night of 29/30 October.
Flooding resulted from
a range of sources including rivers, streams,
ditches, drains, road and fields.
'The scale and suddenness
was remarkable,' said Gordon Trapmore, Environment
Agency Flood Risk Manager for Devon and
Cornwall.
'The response of the
community has been brilliant and we want
to work with everyone involved to address
issues the floods have raised.'
Action already taken
by the Environment Agency includes:
debris and blockages
(including two cars in the Furzebrook in
Ottery St Mary) have been removed from watercourses.
checks have been made
to ensure flood defence schemes were not
damaged in the event.
surveys have been carried
out on flooded areas.
data (ie river levels,
rainfall) has been collected to inform our
understanding of the event.
a public ‘drop-in’ surgery
has been organised next Wednesday (November
12) at The Tumbling Weir Hotel in Ottery
St Mary from 12.00 noon - 8.00pm. Anyone
affected by the East Devon flood can come
along and tell us about their experience.
The Agency is working
with a wide range of partners including
East Devon District Council, Devon County
Council and Ottery Town Council on this
and many other aspects of the flood event.
'We are now moving from
the immediate response stage of the emergency
to actively pursuing how we can make further
improvements to minimise flood risk in the
area,' said Gordon Trapmore.
'We are totally committed
to working with local residents and all
our partner public bodies to do as much
as we can in the aftermath of this terrible
flood.'
+ More
Working together to
combat crime on River Thames
Elisa Wilson - 9-Nov-2008
- The Environment Agency has helped the
Met and Surrey police make a number of arrests
along the River Thames after the organisations
joined forces to combat crime.
The four day patrol
called ‘Operation Inveigle’ along a stretch
of the River Thames between Teddington Lock
and Shepperton Lock saw the Marine Policing
Unit make a string of arrests including
one for possession of Class A drugs, and
two for possession of stolen goods. The
officers also made three seizures of herbal
cannabis and reported five vessels for unlicensed
activity.
Mark Rowe, Thames Waterway
Manager said: “We have a close working relationship
with the Surrey and Metropolitan Police
and provide facilities and intelligence
to support their activities on the non-tidal
Thames. There are lots of organisations
involved in providing an integrated approach
to policing the river and we have improved
our joint working over the last few years.”
Jim Halstead, Surrey
Police Said: “The Surrey Police Partnership
with the Environment Agency has gone from
strength to strength over the last few years
and we are now working very closely with
the Metropolitan Police, I welcome the multi-agency
approach to policing the river which has
now been taken to the next level.”
The Marine Policing
Unit of the Met Police patrolled the river
with their patrol boat and a team of officers
from their Wapping office up river. Stuart
Jenkins, Sergeant for the unit said:
“The purpose of the
operation was to reassure the local community
and river users and to proactively deal
with criminal activity taking place. Cross
border working between police and other
agencies is essential in the fight against
crime and this was an excellent example
of the system working between the Metropolitan
Police Service, Surrey Police and the Environment
Agency to make River Thames a safer place.”
